IT Trends for Thursday, October 29, 2003.

Thursday, October 30, 2003

In This Issue

OPINION

Terry Calhoun, IT Trends Commentator
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
University of Michigan

J'e’s back! While away, he had an aaaHHHAAA!!! moment, similar to his first browsing experience, and thinks he may just have spotted the “Internet2 Killer App.” Read on to see why.

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Sharing Large Data Files

J'e St. Sauver
University of Oregon Computing Center

This year's Fall Internet2 Member Meeting took place in Indianapolis, from October 12th to 17th. Besides being a nice opportunity to learn what's been going on in the Internet2 community (while also providing a chance to hash out issues with colleagues from other I2 schools face-to-face over a beer and a bowl of Cincinnati-style 3-, 4-, or 5-way chili), the I2 Member Meeting included the widely overlooked announcement of what may very well be the long-awaited "Internet2 killer app," a program from the University of Tennessee Knoxville Computer Science Department that g'es by the somewhat odd name of LoRS, part of the LoCI project.

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Terry Calhoun ([email protected]) is director of communications and publications for the Society for College and University Planning (www.scup.org).


IT NEWS

MIT Students Create Legal Alternative to Napster

Two MIT students blended some radio practices with some library practices to create the Libraries Access to Music Project, which is officially authorized by MIT and supported by research dollars from Microsoft. The system is said to sidestep the copyright pitfalls that lead to Napster's demise. (The New York Times)...
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Consortium Cranks Finely Ground Computing Net

It's 2010, stop by the corner store and buy a half-pound of particle-sized network nodes, then sprinkle them around your house or in your clothing...
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Clemson Students Question Laptop Requirement

Some Clemson University students question the requirement that they own laptops. The university says they're missing the point...
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PlanetLab Group Envisions Re-Birth of the Internet

Researchers at Princeton, MIT, and 50 other colleges and universities want to rebuild the Internet, arguing that today's network is like a 1973 Buick retrofitted with air bags and emissions controls. With the new system, we won't haul hardware around, and recordable CDs will be as obsolete as the floppy disk...
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Simulations and the Learning Revolution

E-Leaning maven Clark Aldrich says that "educational simulations will be in widespread use by leading instructors within five years and will eventually change education" - as much as motion pictures and textbooks already did...
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Charting the Impact of Spam

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 60 percent of Americans have reduced e-mail usage due to Spam. An amazing number of people click on the "remove me" link (67 percent) or even click to get more information (33 percent)...
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Beefing up Macs at the University of Michigan

New Power Mac G5s in some of the university's media centers have dual monitors, a set-up created inexpensively by cannibalizing displays that had previously been used with earlier models. (The Michigan Daily)...
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Virtual Hacking and Defense at Iowa State

ISEAGE stands for Internet-Scale Event and Attack Generation Environment, and that's what will permit Iowa State University Researchers to recreate the virtual world of the Internet and model attacks and defense. (Science Daily)...
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Universities Coordinate Cyber Attack Simulation

Another cybersecurity research program, EMIST, for Evaluation Methods in Internet Security Technology, will run on the U.C. Berkeley and USC DETER (Cyber Defense Technology Experimental Research Network) network. Penn State and Purdue University will join in the research. (The Daily Democrat)
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Inappropriate Use of ePortfolios at Clemson University

Pornographic materials were put on ePortfolios by varsity athletes at Clemson. Or, their personal websites were hacked. Either way, this was not what those who are working on virtual portfolios have in mind. (Myrtle Beach Online)...
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Indiana University Webmail Shut Out of AOL for 5 Days

A spammer used IU relays to transmit mass emails and AOL then blocked all IU emails to AOL addresses until they and IU staff straightened matters out...
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RESOURCES


IT Resource Center for Non-Profits

The center is devoted to guiding non-profit organizations in the use of information technology. Constituent services include: planning and implementing technology approaches to nonprofit activities; technology consulting, training, and problem-solving; advocacy of the importance of technology to nonprofits...
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Adaptive Technology Resource Centre

The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University of Toronto includes pointers to information technology that is accessible to all; through research, development, education, proactive design consultation and direct service...
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DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

VCampus, Brainbench Offer 'One Stop Shop' for Assessment

VCampus Corp., a provider of e-Learning solutions, and Brainbench, which specializes in online skills measurement, announced plans to expand Brainbench's online skills assessment offering using VCampus' web services technology to automatically make available recommended online courses by skill. The companies said the deal will strengthen Brainbench's approach to offer a comprehensive system to measure and improve the skills critical to success. Using VCampus' web services technology, the Brainbench will provide users with a mapped list of recommended VCampus online courses, based on individual tests, by mid-November.

U. Penn Mental Health Centers Sign Enterprise Software Deal

The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research signed a three-year contract with Netsmart Technologies, Inc., a supplier of enterprise software tailored for health and human service providers. The organization will use Creative's InfoScriber web-based, electronic prescribing system at four community mental health centers. The agencies are collaborating with the Center on a research project designed to address racial disparities in mental health treatment; data gathered through the use of InfoScriber will be used as part of this research.

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Events


Syllabus fall2003
December 8-10,
Cambridge, Mass. http://www.syllabus.com/fall2003

Events Calendar



POLL

Are commercial course management systems vendors doing a good job of providing support for their products?
Yes
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Sponsored by:
Trends and Transformations at Syllabus fall2003
Peer into the future of knowledge exchange on campus at Syllabus fall2003, December 8-10 in Cambridge, Mass. Join moderator Frank Tansey, and panelists Steven Acker, Ohio State University; Trent Batson, University of Rhode Island, and Sarah Roberts, Duke University, for a thought-provoking discussion on digital technologies and change. Register by Nov. 7 and save up to $100!

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NEW PRODUCTS

ReadyGo Unveils Update of Web Course Builder Software

ReadyGo Inc., maker of an authoring tool for course creation designed to be used by the subject matter expert, announced the latest release of the software, ReadyGo Web Course Builder v. 4.0. New features including cascading style sheets, expanding tree menus, multiple levels of indentation for bullets, multiple graphics on each bullet page, easy HTML page import, courses generated to only show tests, ability to add your own < meta=""> tags into the course or on specific bullet/subpage/glossary pages, and launching a course to a specific page within the course...
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HP Graphing Calculator for Connected Computation

HP released the HP 48gII graphing calculator, a new entry in its hallowed calculator line. The HP 48gII graphing calculator performs an array of calculations and 3-D graphics at an estimated U.S. retail price of $129. It comes with an onboard library of 180 scientific and engineering constants and units, and is built for engineers, surveying professionals and students who need portable calculating power with the convenience of connectivity...
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Casio Enters the Portable Data Projector Market

Consumer electronics powerhouse Casio, Inc., has entered the data projector market with two high-luminosity mobile projectors (XJ-350 and XJ-450) designed for portability. The XJ-350 delivers 2200 lumens from a very small 9x7x2 inch configuration, while the XJ450, with a letter-sized footprint, delivers 2800 lumens. Both models come with a 2X optical zoom lens, which makes it possible to project onto a screen as close as 32 inches.




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Selecting a CMS
This week's interview features Kathy Cristoph.



Kathy Christoph explains how the University of Wisconsin selected a new course management system, through an in-depth study of campus requirements and user input, and a rigorous evaluation of potential CMS vendors.

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Discussion of the Week:

What are your experiences with having nearby colleges share their workshops and training with other schools? -- posted by prospero

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